Mar 26, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court on Friday dismissed lawyer Matthias Chang’s suit against American Express (M) Sdn Bhd for breach of contract and defamation.

Justice Noor Azian Shaari dismissed the suit after considering the evidence and and submissions by both parties, and found that the plaintiff had failed to prove his claim against the credit card company.

Chang had filed the suit against American Express in 2002, after his credit card had been suspended.

He was the first witness of the case, which began Thursday.

On Thursday, Chang, who was previously the political secretary to former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was cited for contempt of court after a spat with Justice Noor Azian.

He was fined RM20,000 in default of one months’ jail, and was ordered to pay the fine within a week.

Counsel Manjit Singh represented Chang in the suit, while Zainur Zakaria acted for him in the contempt proceedings and Prakash Menon appeared for American Express.